Q. I was told by the Nevada Department of Agriculture the
tiny insect I found jumping around in my bathroom were springtails. I have read
they are very hard to kill which I finding out after I had an exterminator try
to get rid of them.
tiny insect I found jumping around in my bathroom were springtails. I have read
they are very hard to kill which I finding out after I had an exterminator try
to get rid of them.
A. Insecticides are not a good choice for controlling
springtails. It usually requires several repeat applications of traditional
household insecticides and they will return if the source of the problem is not
corrected.
springtails. It usually requires several repeat applications of traditional
household insecticides and they will return if the source of the problem is not
corrected.
What are springtails?
Springtails are tiny jumping
insects, about 1/16 inch long, that are found in cooler times of the year where
there is standing water. I have seen them here outside in grass that is kept
too wet or where there is a water leak.
Because they are such good
jumpers they are sometimes confused with leafhoppers outside the home and fleas
inside the home. They are neither.
Inside the house they can
multiply where the flooring is kept constantly moist. They feed live off of
mold and fungi that grow where there is shallow, standing water or very wet
soils. If the area is kept dry and cleaned up they will disappear.
Save your money. Don’t apply
pesticides. Fix the area so it stays dry and sanitize it.
pesticides. Fix the area so it stays dry and sanitize it.
Hello, I have had springtails on my patio for years and every exterminator I had could not figure out what they were and how to treat them and then this article about springtails made me so happy to finally find out what the little critter are.
It is true that trying to get rid of them with any kind of chemicals will not work. The exterminator was able to tell me that because I have a small patch of grass off of my pation that is where they are coming from. I have a huge backyard which is all rocks so a little green grass was nice to have.
I really get upset when they get into the kitchen and master bath which are right off of the patio so what I do is sprinkle a line of baby powder or medicated powder which is not always east to find, along the threshhold of my sliding doors. The little critters will not walk into the powder whic I apply till I create a 1/4 height because for some reason if they go in they do not come out. On windy days I lose a little of the powder but I jut reapply where needed. I know this all sounds bizarre but I do what I have to so I can keep them under control. When the weather gets extremely hot around the middle of June they just disappear. Very strange!
I would have added "and before the termites show up." Moisture in the home is not a good thing.